Processing the Process

Great Weekend. Lately we've been working as hard on Saturday and Sunday as we do during the rest of the week. The last couple of days have been much more laid back though, and much, much more relaxing and enjoyable. Went for a short hike with the munchkins yesterday in a very pretty state park near here with some gorgeous bottomland swamp/forest trails. Not hot enough yet to be miserable, so it was a real treat. Fresh air'll do wonders for ya. I recommend it highly.

Read Cory Doctorow's new Little Brother last week, and passed it on to the LOML on Friday. He didn't sleep until it was finished in the wee hours. We both liked it very much - I think it has a lot to say to its YA audience. They've grown up in a world where technology is both ubiquitous taken for granted - these are kids who've never known a world without the internet. Because of that, many may not see the harm in data mining practices and the slow but sure turning over of our rights to privacy. Little Brother presents the argument that we have to be very careful in our management of our personal information in such a way that kids can identify with and understand. He explains a lot of techno-savvy terms, along with their possible implications, but the text never sounds preachy. I especially liked the afterwards which explain the tech in a little more detail but also give the reader information about where to go for more...well, information. Highly recommended.

Also got a little work done on the novel this weekend, mostly plotting points and characterizations. To be honest, lately when I think about working on this project, I find myself afraid. Sounds weird, I know, but in my never-finished-a-novel before mind it looms as a huge undertaking, and I worry about doing it right. As if on cue, Gaiman posted last night,

"In a first draft, you get to explode. The objective (at least for me) is to get it down on paper, somehow. Battle through the laziness and the not-enough-time and the this-is-rubbish and everything else, and just get it written. Whatever it takes."

That made me feel better. If he can feels like his work is crap the first time around and it still somehow comes out great, I at least have a shot. So, today I'll soldier on.

12 May 2008

Slackeresque

God, I am such a wiener. I haven't updated this page in forever. Sorry again. Been here, been busy with other things. Consistency has never been my strong point. Procrastination, on the other hand...

Have been writing a lot all spring in The Paradox of Vision. Crossposting at The Wild, Wild Left. To be honest, however, I'm weary. I feel like I've been beating my bloody head against a wall. I go through these periods where I am passionate about making my voice heard politically, even if it echoes back to me, and when I am despondently apathetic, unable to force myself to read any more stories or blog posts about how horrible things are here politically. Safe to say I am moving into the latter. I feel guilty about it, this being an election year and all, but I've learned not to force myself to attend to things I am sick of. The time will come round again.

Have been writing, short stories and such. Got a couple more rejections, but still one out there having passed the first test. Started a story earlier this week but then realized that I want to work on a novel. I want to write a novel, and finish a first draft before the end of the summer. Spend the fall revising & rewriting, and then send it off to agents and/or publishers before Christmas.

So I opened up my trusty word processor this morning, propped the keyboard on my lap, and waited. Nothing. The program is still open, as a matter of fact, staring at me with that, 'come on back, you know you have to eventually' look. I know, damnit, I"m coming, just give me another minute.

I want to buy my name, start a real website also. Somewhere I can post pieces I've written, start eliciting an audience. Getting some feedback. Rejections so often come with a form letter only, so I've no way of knowing if it's good, bad, or just not right for them. I love criticism, especially the bad stuff. Not easy to come by, however.

Right. Ok. Back to that blank page...

07 May 2008

 
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